winchester primer problems...

[JustinCglass]

has any one had no fires from winchester LR primers?

I'm relatively new to reloading and have already had 10 out of 120 no fires:banghead:
the hammer falls and nothing happens... have tried multiple strikes and still nothing
makes for a scary extraction, then I have a live cartridge with the primer engaged
maybe my loading practice needs improvement, or winchester's quality control has gone down hill...

all the primers were seated fully and the rifle has had maybe 2000 rounds through it, so I dont think the hammer spring has worn out yet...
any info would be nice
thanks

 

[JimKirk]

What kind of gun, caliber and brass are you using?

Primers are designed to be seated .003-.005 below flush with most cases, are you sure they are fully seated?

Are the firing pin marks good or are they light dimples?

Do you have a headspace problem with the gun or maybe you're creating headspace by not adjusting the sizing dies correctly?

Does the rifle fire factory ammo OK? If so then....

maybe my loading practice needs improvement

Give us some more information, maybe we can help you out with your problem.

Jimmy K

 

[EddieNFL]

I had one last week (LP in .45ACP). Ejected the round and the strike appeared light. Rechambered and it fired. I'm pretty certain it was a high primer (my fault). That's the first ever misfire I recall. Shot about 20K of them in the past 12 months. Had two misfires with CCI: a BR2 and a 400.

 

[Ed Gallop]

Could you have left the lid off or exposed to high humidity? Ed.

 

[Quoheleth]

I've been having problems lately, but I am suspecting humidity. I had forgotten about these and they were in their factory packaging on my loading bench, not in any sort of storage containers. As some Fiocchi primers also have been giving problems, humidity is my #1 suspect. (edit: these are all small pistol.)

If I have had a failure to ignite, USUALLY a second strike will set it off.

Guess I have to shoot more and use up my stock so I can get fresh stuff in.

Q

 

[The Bushmaster]

Second strike factor indicates improper seating procedures, ie not seated all the way.

 

[W.E.G.]

What caliber?

What kind of rifle?

What case gage are you using?

 

[Remo-99]

Second strike factor indicates improper seating procedures, ie not seated all the way.

+1

If there were contamination such as moisture, usually a second strike won't ignite it either.

 

[qajaq59]

Second strike factor indicates improper seating procedures, is not seated all the way.

Yup, or if the rifle is a Swiss K31 you're not getting the bolt fully closed.

And I don't think it's humidity. I've had primers that spent 6 hours under water when a pipe burst and they fired fine once they dried out.

What kind of rifle is it?

 

[armoredman]

I had a failure with Winchester primers, small rifle, not large, that I will not buy/use them again. The disc of metal that fell out was in the exact perfect place to cause a failure to feed on the next round.
That, and the attitude of Winchester employees when I asked them about it, made me decide to stick with CCI and Remington.

 

[snuffy]

Could you have left the lid off or exposed to high humidity? Ed.

Lid? A common myth that humidity can kill primers/powder. It doesn't make any difference.

the hammer falls and nothing happens...

If you have a hammer, you're using a single shot rifle, a TC contender, encore, or a H&R/NEF. Those can suffer from not having the breech totally closed by the shell being a bit too long. That will cause miss-fires.

This is a classic example of my recent thread of needing guidelines for questions asked about complicated problems with reloading.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=531445

We NEED a lot more info before we can begin to answer/trouble shoot your problem.

 

[EddieNFL]

Could you have left the lid off or exposed to high humidity? Ed.

Always a possibility, but my shooting partner stores powder and primers in the garage and has never had a problem. Not too many places more humid than the gulf coast and he lives across the street from the bay. Modern primers are sealed fairly well.

 

[EddieNFL]

If you have a hammer, you're using a single shot rifle, a TC contender, encore, or a H&R/NEF. Those can suffer from not having the breech totally closed by the shell being a bit too long. That will cause miss-fires

.

I don't know about the new gen Contender, but the older versions that I own will not allow the hammer to strike the firing pin if the breech isn't completely locked.

 

[oldreloader]

I agree with Snuffy on the humidity.I've never had a problem with it and I live in south Arkansas. When I started reloading over 40 years ago we didn't own an air conditioner. My primers had NO choice but be in the humidity.

 

[Ky Larry]

I recently had a tray of 100 CCI SR Mag primers that had problems. Either they wouldn't go off or they strung shots vertically with a proven load. My other CCI primers with different lot #s shot perfectly. With manufactuers running at 100% capacity, it's surprising we aren't seeing more quality problems. I've been loading since 1974 and this is the first time I've gotten a bad batch of primers.

 

[JustinCglass]

its a winchester lever action 30-30 (will not release the hammer unless the action is closed all the way)
the cartridge feeds fine, and the action shuts compleatly

I'm using a Lee full length sizer, brass is tumbled, primer pockets are clean, head spacing is close to 2.502.
It's hitting the primer nice and hard (you can see a deep indent and shows signs of a strong impact)
I'm in lake county California. Humidity isn't a problem here.
I'm sure the seating depth is within spec.
I'm thinking I may be contaminating the primers when I load them.
I'll just were some neoprene gloves next time I prime
there has been a few complaints about these primers on midway
since winchester stopped production and started lisencing there name,
there quality control is controled by there lisencie

 

[NCsmitty]

I'm thinking I may be contaminating the primers when I load them.

I believe that you have found the problem, if you are using the press priming unit.

I suggest getting a hand held priming unit, and your hands do not need to touch the primers.



NCsmitty

 

[qajaq59]

I was going to suggest the head space.But apparently you've already had that checked. I had a Marlin that drove me nuts thinking it was the primers before I had a good gunsmith check the head space. Have you tried the primers in any other rifle?

 

[snuffy]

After all I said about how impervious primers are to most ANY contamination, you jump to the conclusion that the tiny amount of oil on your hands are to blame! You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make them drink! You can inform, teach, on the internet, but you can't get through sometimes. Heck MOST times!

I'm through trying to help people that won't accept the truth.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Unless you detinate primers with a hammer or a rock (not recommended) they are almost IMPERVIOUS to anything you can think of...They have a laquer finish over the priming compound from the factory.

 

[JustinCglass]

I am well aware that the small amount of oil on my hands, cannot contaminate the primers
and the laquer finish over the primer will keep the moisture and other contaminants out.
I just heage my bets and think of every possibility before I jump to any conclusions.
All responses have a certan amount of credability and one must listen to them all.
from a dirty hand to the bad batch of primers.
thank you all for your input and I think the primers are just inconsistent
next time I'll try cci or wolf or what ever primer I can find at the time!
justin

 

[swiftak]

I use Winchwster primers almost exclusively and have never had a missfire. Come to think of it, I've never had a missfire with Remington or CCI primers when I used them either.

 

[jwr_747]

primer not seated correctly,or on a K-31,bolt not closed...jwr

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I was going to suggest an improperly seated primer but you said you did multiple strikes and no ignition. Usually when a primer isn't seated the first strike will completely seat the primer and the second will fire it off. As unlikely as it sounds you might have a few bad primers. (I've never had a bad batch but it's possible)